The Space Between
by everymonday
Summary: A companion piece for Closer. Deleted scenes, alternate endings, drabbles, vignettes, pieces that I thought were way too fluffy for the actual story, etc.
1. You Stole My Eyes & I Never Looked Back

**Disclaimer:** Jane Austen owns Pride and Prejudice. I just took her beloved characters, stuck them in a modern setting, tweaked them a bit to fit my story. If I was making money from this, I'd probably have a fridge full of Red Bull. I can assure you that my fridge is void of Red Bull because I just consumed my last can about two minutes ago.

**Author's Note: **This is the first of (probably) five chapters of deleted scenes for my story Closer. You can read these without reading Closer, but they probably won't make much sense. Enjoy.

**The Space Between (Deleted Scenes) by everymonday**

**Chapter One: You Stole My Eyes And I Never Looked Back**

**---**

**xx**

"Where do you see us in five years?" Will asked. He was lying on his stomach on their bed, one arm under his head and the other was tracing circles on her leg.

Lizzie smiled at him and put down her book. "Together."

He smiled back, pleased with her answer. "Will we be married?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, not at his question, but rather at the lack of panic she felt from it. "If you'd like."

He pulled her from her sitting position so that she was lying face to face with him. He stroked her cheek tenderly, an unreadable expression on his face. "I would."

"You just have to ask," she whispered.

He moved so that he was facing her completely, head propped his arm. "Are you expecting a proposal any time soon?"

She shook her head. "We can't get married too soon. I don't want to steal Jane's thunder."

He laughed. "Dully noted." He kissed the tip of her nose, lingering a bit. "I love you."

She gave him another smile and pulled him back for a proper kiss. "I love you too."

"Where will we be in ten years?" he asked, poorly feigning indifference.

Lizzie gave it some thought. "Married. We'll be living in a bigger place."

"In the suburbs?"

She blanched. "Why there?"

He shrugged, not meeting her eyes, his cheeks reddening slightly.

She bit her lip, understanding dawning on her. "I guess it'd be nice for the kids…"

He turned to her quickly. "Kids?"

She nodded, smiling. "You want kids, don't you?"

He nodded too. "How many?"

She paused to think. "Two. A boy and a girl."

He grinned. "Will the girl be a dancer?"

"If she wants." Lizzie honestly hadn't thought that far ahead yet, but she honestly didn't believe she'd be disappointed if her daughter wasn't a dancer.

"That's not important to you?"

"I don't need a clone of myself."

Will brought his knuckles to touch her cheek. "I'd love a daughter that was a tiny clone of you," he said softly.

"She'd be a handful."

"_You're_ a handful, and I love you more than anything."

**xx**

Dinner was served on fine china in Charlie's fine dining room. Charlie sat at the head of the large table. Jane was on his right, and Caroline insisted on being on the left. Will was either too tired or too apathetic to argue with her. He chose to sit next to Jane, leaving Lizzie to sit next to Caroline.

"I'm so very sorry to hear about NYCB, Elizabeth," Caroline said, with more glee than condolence.

Lizzie stared at her plate and stabbed her lettuce with more force than necessary. "It's fine."

"Will you be participating in fashion week, Caroline?" Jane asked.

Lizzie looked up to meet her sister's eyes, giving her a silent thank you as Caroline went into detail about her plans for fashion week. Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief.

She ate quietly, without removing her eyes from her plate. She let the conversation continue without her, even after they moved on from the subject of fashion week. Lizzie wasn't sure why she'd let Jane talk her into even going to dinner. _Probably because you were still doped up on pain meds when she asked you_, Lizzie thought.

"Elizabeth. Would you like more salad?" Will asked her.

She looked up, meeting his gray eyes for the first time since dinner had started. She tried not to notice how attractive he was even though the gray in his sweater really brought out his eyes... She looked down at her plate to realize that she had finished her dinner. She frowned.

"Lizzie?" Jane prompted, worriedly.

Lizzie rolled her eyes at Jane's tone. "Sure," she said to Will, accepting the large glass salad bowl he offered.

"Do all ballet dancers eat as much as you, Elizabeth?" Caroline asked.

"Not the ones that are anorexic," Lizzie replied bitingly, not looking up as she piled lettuce onto her plate.

"And I suppose you're not one of _those_," Caroline said, her tone almost disappointed.

"Seeing as how you just said I ate a lot, I would say not."

"Where's Louisa?" Jane inquired suddenly.

"She's gone back to LA," Charlie replied. "She was only here for Christmas."

Jane's attempt at a subject change did not deter Caroline this time. "How will you keep your figure now that you're not dancing, Elizabeth?"

"I don't know, Caroline. How do you keep yours since you haven't danced in years?" Lizzie asked. She speared a cherry tomato and stuck it into her mouth, barely tasting it.

"Dancing was not my career though. I've no idea what _I_ would do if I lost _my_ career," Caroline said.

Despite herself, Lizzie felt tears prick in her eyes. She stared at her plate and counted to ten to stay calm.

"Caroline, have you spoken to Ana lately?" Will asked just as Lizzie was reaching nine.

"What?" Caroline replied sharply, confused.

"Ana asked about you," Will explained slowly. Lizzie looked up to see a small smile on his lips and mirth in his eyes, as if he was enjoying some private joke. "She says she hasn't heard from you in a while, and wonders how you are doing."

There was a pause. Then Caroline said, "I haven't emailed her in a while. I do feel bad about that. I'll email her as soon as dinner is over. I've just been so busy lately."

"Good," Will replied simply, still with that humorous look on his face.

"Who's Ana?" Jane asked tentatively, giving Lizzie another worried glance. Lizzie was just glad for the distraction Will had provided, though she wasn't sure why he had done it.

"Will's sister," Caroline answered quickly. "She's a positive doll. She does ballet too, you know."

"Really?"

"Yes, but not seriously," Will added. "She did it for a while, but found she preferred other forms of art."

"Like what?" Jane asked quickly, obviously wanting to steer the conversation as far away from Lizzie as possible.

Lizzie sighed, wishing she'd just stayed home. She saw Charlie give her an apologetic smile. She shrugged in response. She hated everyone worrying about her like this. She hated letting Caroline get to her for even a second.

"She plays the flute and the piano," Will replied.

"Oh, I play the piano," Jane said.

Lizzie couldn't help but smile. "You can play Chopsticks, Jane."

Jane looked relieved that her sister was finally participating in a harmless conversation. "I can play other things too, Lizzie."

"Like what?" Lizzie questioned, grinning.

Jane blushed. She glanced at Charlie before mumbling, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Charlie and Lizzie both laughed. Caroline didn't look pleased.

"Do you play anything?" Will asked her.

She scowled at him, wondering if he and Caroline were going to double team her. "Not well," she replied.

"You did go farther than I did with piano lessons though," Jane reminded her.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Jane, you quit as soon as Dad said you could. I quit a few days after."

"Only because you were a copy cat."

"Don't pretend you're not flattered, dear sister."

Jane laughed softly. Then she looked at Charlie, "Do you play anything?"

Lizzie turned back to her salad, feeling slightly better. Jane had that effect on her.

"What is your favorite book?" Will asked her.

She looked up, surprised he was addressing her again She chewed carefully before answering. "I don't really have a favorite."

"Well, did you enjoy_ Gatsby_?" Will asked, staring at her intently.

She nodded. "It was a bit depressing, but I did love it."

"I agree," he said.

Lizzie snuck a glance at Charlie and Jane, who were still in conversation about instruments. Caroline was watching them shrewdly. "I like Milton's works quite a bit," she said.

Will made a face.

"Are you not a fan?" she asked.

"I'm afraid all I remember about Milton is writing essays about _Paradise_ _Lost_ all throughout my university years," Will explained.

Lizzie smiled. "Another reason I'm glad I skipped the college experience then."

Will's brow furrowed. "It's a lot of work, but a college degree does pay off."

Lizzie's smile faded. "For some people, I suppose."

"A college degree is very important in this country," he argued.

"Not for dancers," Lizzie argued back.

"You can't dance forever," he told her.

"Watch me," she replied.

"That's absurd."

"Look," Lizzie started quietly, not wanting to bring attention back to herself. "College is for people who don't really know what they want to do with their lives, so they go there to figure it out. Or it's for people who do know, and need a college degree for what they want to do. I wasn't either one of those. I knew what I wanted to do, and I didn't need a college degree to do it."

"Still. It's important. It can be a security blanket, if anything. A plan B."

"I wasn't going to spend some of my most crucial ballet years at a university just for a security blanket," Lizzie told him fiercely. "You're the only one here that actually went to college, you realize that? Don't be so judgmental."

Will looked around the room, and she saw surprise take over his expression. "Charles went to Stanford for a year," Will muttered.

"Yes, and a lot of good that did him, right?" Lizzie scoffed.

He frowned. "So, even now, you don't regret skipping college?"

"No." Lizzie sighed. "For me, college would have just been a four year detour to NYCB. If I'd gone to college, maybe I would have had that security blanket, but I think I would have been unhappy for four years. Why take up a spot in college that could have been for someone who actually wanted to be there?"

"Many dancers go to college while dancing," he argued.

"Yes, and they're still dancing in the corps. They don't advance because their focus is split."

"But-"

Lizzie cut him off. "Look, I'm not saying that a college degree is useless. You're obviously putting yours to good use. But college isn't for everyone."

Caroline, growing bored of the college conversation on one end and the instruments conversation on the other, decided to talk about what she knew best. "Will, is your sweater Versace?"

**xx**

"What are you doing?"

"Having a tea party," she said sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Why are you standing on your hands?"

She smiled at him from her position against the wall. She was, indeed, standing on her hands. Her face was a dark red color, and he could see beads of sweat on her forehead that were threatening to fall to the ground. She began to move, and he thought she'd come to her senses, but instead she began to walk, on her hands, towards him. "Everything looks different from this position," she told him.

He snorted. "I'd imagine everything looks upside down."

She laughed. "Yes, but your shoes look even more polished than normal. And I can see all the scuff marks on the floor. I can feel every little piece of dirt on the ground under my hands."

Will opened his mouth to tell her it was unhealthy to have blood rush to the head for that long and it probably wasn't good for her healing leg, but she continued talking.

"Why are you here anyway? Charlie and Jane aren't here."

"I need to talk to you."

"So talk."

He tried to formulate his thoughts, but all that his mind could tell him was that Elizabeth Bennet was insane. She was insane and too dangerous a person for him.

**xx**

"Excuse me."

Lizzie stopped and looked at the source of the voice. "Hey, Dad."

"Lizard, do you realize you two are the only ones dancing?" he asked.

"Yes," Lizzie smiled. "It's better than Will standing around and brooding."

"I don't brood!"

Mr. Bennet laughed. "Well, I'm going to head back to my hotel soon. So would you mind not brooding for a while so I can talk to my daughter privately?"

Will looked exasperated, but agreed.

"I like him a lot, you know," her dad told her as he took Will's place.

Lizzie grinned, watching Will walk toward where Ana was still supervising the cup balancing. "Good. I do, too."

"You told me your mother liked him, so I was quite determined to hate him for the sake of disagreeing with her." Jasper Bennet sighed. "Will was just too irresistible."

Lizzie guffawed. "He's taken."

"I know, I know." Her father gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You seem very happy, Lizard."

"I am, Dad," Lizzie told him honestly. "I don't think I've ever been this happy."

"I can't imagine how annoyingly happy you'll be when you start dancing at ABT."

"Unbearably so."

Mr. Bennet rolled his eyes. "Good thing Will loves you."

"Good thing." Lizzie looked over her father's shoulder for a glimpse of her boyfriend, but couldn't find him in the room anymore.

"Dennis is betting that Will is going to propose before Charlie," her father said conversationally.

Lizzie missed a step. "What?"

"Just a friendly bet between two old friends."

"Dad!"

"Don't take it too seriously, Lizard."

"_Me _take it seriously? You're the one making bets about proposals!"

"I know. I'm only teasing, but Lizzie, you must know how crazy that man is about you."

Lizzie swallowed. "I'm crazy about him too."

"I know." Mr. Bennet smiled tenderly at his daughter. "You're beautiful in love, Lizzie."

A blush crept on her face. "Thanks, Dad."

Sensing her embarrassment, her father changed the subject. "Catherine is quite grown up these days."

Lizzie nodded. "Being away from Lydia has definitely allowed her to find more of herself. She's even applied to a few colleges."

"And Lydia? How's rehab going for her?"

"It's going well, I guess," Lizzie shrugged. "She's in a three month program and just finished the first month. Mom visits her every weekend and is spending Christmas and New Years there."

"Your mother coddles her."

"I don't disagree," she sighed.

"I heard they arrested Wickham." Lizzie wondered if her father was feeling guilty about being a bit absent during the whole Wickham fiasco and this was his way of making up for it. "They caught him with drugs, right?"

"Yeah, they're prosecuting him for possession and intent to sell." Lizzie shook her head, disgusted. "Did Jane tell you?"

"Will's sister did," Mr. Bennet said. "She's a character, just like her brother."

"Really? When I first met Ana I thought she was nothing like Will."

"I think they're very much alike, Lizzie. I think they're both a bit awkward, but they're both overcoming it. She's better at it than he is She hides behind her humor while Will just refuses to talk to people he doesn't know."

Lizzie laughed. "Okay, I get your point."

"She reminds me of you, too, actually."

"I'm awkward?"

"You both love fiercely. You're both very bright, determined, and ambitious."

Lizzie blushed again. "Are you trying to get something from me? What's with all the compliments?"

"I'm just very proud of the person you've become, Lizzie."

Lizzie stopped moving and wrapped her arms around her father. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, dear." He hugged her back tightly. "I really should be going now. I'll see you and Will tomorrow night for the ballet, right?"

"Right."

"I haven't been to the American Ballet Theatre in years. I'm quite excited that you decided to dance there." Her father dropped another kiss on her forehead.

"Only because you promised to visit me more," Lizzie reminded him.

"I remember." Mr. Bennet chuckled. "Good night, Lizzie."

**xx**

"If you asked me to give up ballet, I think I would," Lizzie admitted softly.

"Why would I ask you to do that though? I know it makes you happy."

"You'll get tired of it soon," Lizzie muttered.

"I don't ever get tired of seeing you happy."

"But if you did, get tired of it, I mean. If you did get tired of it, and ask me to give it up, I think I would if it meant keeping you."

"You'd be resentful though."

"You're missing the point!" she exclaimed. "This is big, Will! Monumental!"

He kissed her soundly on the lips. "I'd never ask you to give up ballet."

"You say that now, but what about-"

"Never." He kissed her again. "I know that asking you to give up ballet would be like asking you to separate your soul into two pieces. I know that ballet is as much a part of you as your foot or hand or something. I'd never ask you to give it up."

**xx**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Helloooooo. How are you guys? It's 4AM and I'm pulling an all-nighter because I have a huge exam tomorrow, and I'm wired from the huge can of Red Bull I just drank. I'm sure you don't care about that, but I just thought I'd let you know anyway. Don't ask me why I've decided now would be a good time to upload this. It must be because I adore you guys so much. :]

So, anyway. I hope you enjoyed the first round of these. I don't even know what to call them. I'll just say deleted scenes to keep it simple and consistent. That's mainly what they are. They're unbeta'd and the writing is probably inconsistent because some of them I wrote a month ago and some I wrote six months ago. I like the authentic, raw feel of them, personally, but if you find any jarring mistakes, do let me know. I've decided to have five deleted scenes per chapter and organize them out of order because I think it's more interesting that way (and to be quite honest with you,_ I _honestly don't even know where some of these would fit in the story anymore). But do know that the first and last of deleted scenes in every chapter was part of an epilogue draft I wrote (because I wrote about ten epilogues before I finally decided on the one I had for the actual story).

Chapter title is from the song Vegas Skies by The Cab.

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	2. Give Me A Chance To Hold On

**The Space Between (Deleted Scenes) by everymonday**

**Chapter Two: Give Me A Chance To Hold On  
**

**---**

**xx**

Will sat at the table alone, waiting for Lizzie to emerge from the restroom so they could leave the restaurant. A sudden gasp drew Will's attention to a table a few feet from him. A woman had her hand over her mouth and a man was holding out a box.

"Yes, yes, yes! A million times yes!"

It took him a second to realize that the man had proposed, and the woman was saying yes. The woman had eyes similar to Lizzie's. The more he stared at the woman, the more the situation changed. He saw the woman's body become more slender, like Lizzie's. He saw her lips fuller, her eyes brighter, her face more beautiful, until he finally pictured Lizzie. He pictured Lizzie saying yes to a proposal.

He pictured it, pictured presenting Lizzie with a ring, and her saying yes. A sudden warmth spread over him as their future together began to come together in his mind. Lizzie in a white dress, her father walking her down the aisle, their friends congratulating them, and Lizzie…his Lizzie, holding his hand and promising to love him forever. God, he wanted it.

Will felt hot. Too hot. This was too much. Too soon. They'd only been dating officially for two months. Two months was way too soon. He wasn't ready. She wasn't ready. _They_ weren't ready. It was too hot in here. The lighting was hurting his eyes. The couple's happy babbling was making him feel strange. The clapping was giving him a headache.

Of course he'd known he and Lizzie were it. She was it. There was no one else but her. He would love no one else but her. For some reason, that hadn't translated to marriage to him though. Until now. _Fuck_.

_This shouldn't matter_, he told himself. _It's not like you have to propose just because you realized that you want to spend the rest of your life loving her_. And just like moments earlier, when he pictured Lizzie in a white dress, the thought of being able to spend the rest of his life loving Lizzie…spending the remainder of his existence making her happy, protecting her, holding her, loving her…God, that warmth. He recognized it, of course. It was that feeling he got when anything Lizzie related happened. It started in his chest and spread through his body until he was aching and comforted at the same time.

He didn't know why he was feeling like this now. It didn't matter. They had a while to go before he'd even consider proposing. He was just…scared. He hadn't realized he was in this deep. Was this normal? Did other people feel the need to propose this early?

He ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Someone touched his shoulder and he jumped.

Lizzie stared at him with bewildered eyes. "Are you okay?"

_Yes, this was normal_, he concluded. "I'm fine."

Her lovely eyebrows knit together. "You sure? You seem flustered."

Maybe people didn't feel a desire to marry this quickly, but they didn't have a Lizzie Bennet either. "I'm fine, I love you." He kissed her quickly.

She smiled. "I love you too."

His heart did the familiar flip it did whenever she said those words. He wondered when it would stop doing that. He hoped never. Will grabbed Lizzie's hand and kissed her knuckles.

"You're very trusting that I washed my hands."

Will laughed. "Are you ready to go?"

Lizzie nodded. "This couple's kind of nauseating."

"It's sweet," Will protested as they exited the restaurant, testing the waters.

She kept her fingers laced with his. "Don't ever propose to me in a restaurant, okay?"

**xx **

"I fell, Mal! I fucking fell!"

Will could hear Lizzie's angry voice from the hallway. The door of her room was wide open and her bag was not far from it. He could see she was still in her the clothes from her audition. He guessed that she simply walked into her room and made a call without thought for anything else, despite the fact that it'd been half an hour.

"Do you hear me, Mallory? I fell! I'm not fine! I fell during an audition with Royal Ballet, which is only one of the most important companies in the world, as I'm sure you know-"

He peered into the room for a second, just to see if it would be okay to interrupt. She was pacing and pushing hair out of her face, clearly upset. She hadn't noticed him yet.

"Right out of a grand jete! I don't even know what happened! I landed and my foot gave out. If this gets out my reputation is shot to hell."

He tore his eyes away from her and began to walk away, wanting to give her privacy.

"_No_, I already called Mary. I'm canceling all of my auditions until I can fix this. I couldn't land a fucking _jete_, Mallory! It's too soon. I thought I was ready but I'm not!"

The way her voice cracked made him stop. He was torn, not sure whether he should give her privacy or comfort. Would she even accept comfort from him? His mind wandered back to September, when she got angry with him for following her to make sure she was all right. He was sure they'd progressed since then, but he didn't know how much. Just when he was finally nearing a decision, he heard her door slam shut behind him, effectively making it for him.

**xx **

It didn't take a genius to read Elizabeth Bennet. Even Will, who was by no means an expert at reading people, could understand her body language and facial expressions quite well. Right now, he could tell she was uncomfortable and flustered, adorably so.

She had untangled herself from his arms, and was standing a good three feet away now, messing with her hair and looking anywhere but him.

"How was San Francisco?" Will asked, figuring she'd be more comfortable if they got on a topic that wasn't related to their embrace just moments earlier.

It worked. Her hands fell from her hair to her sides and her shoulders relaxed. "Good. Nice. I had a good time."

He nodded, trying hard not to stare at her. "Your audition went well?"

Lizzie smiled. "It did. Really well."

"That's good. Are you all done then?"

"No, I still have NYCB and ABT." Her smile faded. "I had to get them moved back a little because of Lydia. I had originally planned to do them before I went to San Francisco."

"I see. When are those auditions?"

"ABT tomorrow morning, and NYCB in the afternoon."

"Well, I hope that goes well for you."

"Thanks." Lizzie shoved her hands in the pockets of her navy skirt and rocked on the balls of her feet.

She was growing uncomfortable again, and he was running out of reasons to stay, though he desperately wanted to. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No. I was just going to see what I had in my fridge though," she said, effectively killing any chance he had at getting her to go to lunch with him.

He nodded again. "I see."

"Do you want to join me?" she asked, biting her lip and not meeting his eyes. "I mean, I don't really know what we have. It won't be anything as good as the food you fed me in London, but I feel like I kind of owe you for that…and everything else."

"I'd love to," he said, opting not to comment on the fact that she owed him nothing for fear that he'd resemble a broken record.

"Follow me, then." Lizzie pivoted on her heel.

He followed her to the kitchen and sat down in a chair while she rummaged through her refrigerator. "We have half of my omelet from this morning, but I don't think you'd like that since I eat them dry."

"Dry?"

"Yeah, I overcook my omelets. I like them disgustingly dry," she explained, turning around to meet his eyes briefly.

"I remember," he murmured.

"Do you?" she asked, surprised. Lizzie turned to face him completely.

"Yeah," he replied. "You ate them like that when we were stuck at Charlie's, and I think once when we all went to breakfast together."

Her lips curved upwards into a tender smile. "You remember that?"

"Yeah." Will shrugged, embarrassed. He remembered a lot more than just the way she liked her eggs.

A silence fell between them, and Lizzie returned to her search for food, the smile not leaving her face.

**xx **

"You're so bossy," Will complained.

Ana smiled sadly at him. "It's an improvement from how _weak _I used to be."

He frowned. "You were never weak, Ana."

His sister looked away briefly. "I was stupid."

Will hesitantly put an arm around her, not knowing what to make of this. Ana so rarely talked about the past, usually insisting that it was over and done with. "Not stupid," he told her gently. "Just trusting and innocent."

"_Too_ trusting and innocent." Ana corrected, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's weird, Will. I haven't thought about the whole thing in a while, but I know Lizzie knows and sometimes I wonder if she…judges me."

"Why would she judge you?" Will asked.

"She seems so strong, you know? Like she'd never believe the lies George told me. She must think I'm an idiot for believing him."

"Ana. We've talked about this. Wickham can be very charming when he wants to be."

"I know, but-"

"Listen to me. Elizabeth believed him too. I mean, that's why she didn't like me at first. Well, not the only reason why, but part of the reason. You are not the only one to believe Wickham's lies."

"Just the only one stupid enough to put herself in danger," Ana muttered.

"No," Will replied firmly, pulling away so he could look in his sister's eyes. "You're not."

Ana was silent for a few moments, her fingers playing with the blanket they were both sitting on. "It's weird, you know? When you talked about Lizzie, I knew she'd be someone cool because she's obviously got you in love with her."

Will felt his face heat up at the words _in love_.

His sister didn't notice, her eyes still trained on the blanket. "I was really happy because God knows you've been alone for way too long." She threw him a playful smirk. "And so much of me wants you two to get together because I can _see_ how much you want her, and I _know_ that deep down, she wants you back."

Ana took a deep breath. "I guess I'm just worried about losing my brother to someone I could never compete with."

**xx **

"I like your hands." Lizzie laced her fingers through his and brought hand to her lips. She kissed each knuckle. "I love the way your fingers fill the space between mine too."

"Most people love my hands because they save lives. Anyone's hand can hold yours, love."

"Not the way yours do." She moved so that she was sitting on top of him. She took both of his hands in hers, fingers laced like before. She leaned down and kissed him soundly on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered, very content.

"I love you too, Will. I love your hands too." She smiled.

He smiled back. "Because they save lives?"

Lizzie bit her lower lip, and Will waited patiently for her to say whatever was on her mind. Finally, she squeezed his hands and said, "Your love fills every chamber of my heart, and when your fingers fill the spaces between mine, I know I'm truly complete."

**xx**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews. They mean so much to me. I'm really glad you're enjoying these. Hopefully this round was just as interesting as the first. The ones from this chapter were all written a very long time ago. I had planned to make Lizzie go to London without Mallory (which is why she's on the phone with her, rather than telling her in person) and had planned for the "I know I'm truly complete" line to be the end. The part about the dry omelets is just a quirk I gave Lizzie in the very beginning and had wanted to use to show much Will pays attention, but alas, it didn't work out. The scene with Ana was an attempt to flesh out her character more, make her a little more vulnerable, but I just couldn't get it to work, so there's the dead end it led me to lol. So yeah, I think these are a little more obvious when it comes to where they go in the story. Hope you liked them.

The chapter title is from the beautiful song You're All I Have by Snow Patrol (who I saw in concert recently and LOVED).


	3. I Won't Forget The Way You Held Me Up

**The Space Between (Deleted Scenes) by everymonday**

**Chapter Three: I Won't Forget The Way You Held Me Up**

**---**

**xx**

Lizzie wasn't sure if it was the small kick in her midsection or the soft whispers from her husband that woke her up.

"Your mom is a little bit crazy about ballet, and sometimes it might feel like she loves dancing more than she loves you, but believe me when I say that there's room in her heart for you too."

Will's head was resting on the small bump, his voice quiet and soothing.

Lizzie smiled and kept her breathing even, wanting to hear what Will had to say to their unborn child. He had become increasingly shy about talking to her stomach, and rarely did this when he knew she was awake.

"Maybe you'll be a ballet dancer too, and it'll just be me left hoping beyond hope I fit into your lives."

There was a long pause, and Lizzie wondered if Will had fallen asleep.

"I was afraid she'd be disappointed when she got pregnant because it would take away time from ballet, but she's actually quite excited about it. I couldn't be happier, of course."

She bit her lip, heart fluttering at the raw sincerity in Will's voice.

"Everyone's excited about you. No one more than your mom and me, obviously. We're going to try very hard not to push our passions on you. You won't be forced to be a ballet dancer or a doctor. Ana might force you into the hotel business, but I know you can fight her."

Lizzie couldn't hold in her snort.

She felt Will stiffen slightly at the noise. He moved so that his head was next to hers, his hand on her stomach. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Lizzie replied. "I'm not sure what did."

"Baby's kicking like crazy," Will said, his voice showing no signs of embarrassment for being caught talking to her stomach.

"Yeah." She joined her hand with his on her midsection, twining their fingers.

Will didn't say anymore for a long time, but Lizzie felt she should clear something up.

"You'll always fit into my life, Will."

**xx**

"He always does this," Charlie informed them with a grin.

Lizzie stared at Will Darcy's sleeping form on the couch. Sometime while she, Charlie, and Jane were cleaning up, he had fallen asleep.

"Always?" Jane asked, reaching for her coat.

"Well, not always, but usually after he's had an on-call shift." Charlie grabbed the coat before Jane could. He helped Jane put it on.

Lizzie wondered where Caroline had gone. She'd disappeared shortly after dessert was served, probably to get out of doing dishes. It seemed Caroline would want to be here for a chance to ogle Will without any repercussions.

As if Lizzie's thoughts had summoned her, Caroline emerged from the hallway. Her sharp eyes softened when she saw Will sleeping on the couch. "Poor baby," she whimpered.

"Don't disturb him, Caroline," Charlie warned. "You remember what happened last time."

Caroline glared at her brother, but didn't move toward the man on the couch.

"Thank you for dinner, Charlie," Jane said. She handed Lizzie her coat.

Lizzie took it and nodded in agreement. "It was great."

Charlie smiled. "My pleasure."

"We'll cook for you next," Jane promised.

"We?" Charlie asked, looking at Lizzie. "I thought you lived by yourself."

She shrugged, putting her arms through the sleeves. "Both of our leases end soon, and Jane has been wanting to get a bigger place together for a while now."

"We sign our new lease next Monday," Jane told him excitedly.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Jane's rather excited about this, if you couldn't tell, Charlie."

Charlie laughed. "No, I couldn't tell at all."

Jane pouted. "You could at least act a little excited to be living with me, Lizzie."

She smiled at her sister. "You're not excited about living with me, Janie. You're excited about getting a new apartment to decorate."

Jane blushed. "Guilty."

"How did you find a place so quickly?" Caroline asked. "I've been looking for ages."

"Well, I was looking for months. We've been planning to live together for a while now," Jane answered.

"Oh, how cute," Carline said. "Now you'll be able to look after your sister, Jane."

Jane frowned. "Lizzie doesn't need me to take care of her."

**xx**

"You promised you'd come," Lizzie reminded him, hating the whine that laced her voice.

"I know. I'm sorry. They asked me to assist on a valve replacement. You know I haven't had much experience on bovine valve replacements. I needed to stay," Will replied, not even looking at her.

"No, you _wanted_ to stay!"

Will stopped writing. He put his pen down and glared at her. "Fine. I _wanted_ to stay. I wanted to stay to get better at my job. Are you happy now?"

"No! Why would that make me happy? To know you'd rather stay in this hospital than come watch me dance? How on _earth_ would that make me happy?"

"This is my _job_! This is what I do, I'm sorry you don't get that!"

"I get it just fine. I get that. Believe me, I know your job is much more important than my job. I know that! Your saving lives for God's sake. I know this is your life. It would just be nice to know that I fit into that life somewhere!" She hadn't meant to yell. She really hadn't. Now people passing by were looking through the window with curious glances, and she didn't know what to do. She started to get up, but his hands grabbed hers quickly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I did promise." Just like that, she was in his arms, and he was forgiven.

"It's okay. I…understand. I'm just not…used to this," she whispered back. "I know I should be."

"I know that it's been hard since I got promoted, and I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize for getting promoted. I know how hard you worked for this. I guess I didn't realize how hard it would be to make _us _work." Lizzie sighed. "You save people, and I can't even begin to express how proud of you I am, Will."

**xx**

The music was playing softly as Lizzie swayed with Will.

"My sister is corrupting your sisters," Will whispered in her ear.

Lizzie turned her head to find Jane, and Cat all looking ridiculous and balancing cups on their foreheads while Ana stood watching, an amused look on her face.

"I don't know. That looks more like Jane's idea. She wants to show off her modeling skills."

"No. Look at Ana. She's clearly the one in charge."

Lizzie laughed. "At least they're having fun."

"I suppose."

"Unlike Charlie, who's asleep in your guest bedroom."

"It's not my fault that Charlie's a lightweight and you spiked his drink, Lizzie."

She laughed again. "It was Rich's idea!"

Will shook his head. "Right, because Rich has the best ideas. Where is he again?" Will pretended to think about it. "Oh, that's right, he's passed out on my guest bedroom floor."

"It's the most interesting thing that's happened tonight though! It's not even midnight, and people are asleep and balancing cups on their heads. Let's face it, Will, your party is boring."

"Hey," Will said sternly. "I only threw this party because both our families were in town, and I thought it would be nice to have them together."

"It's so early for awkward family meetings," Lizzie pouted. "We've only been dating for a month."

"That doesn't matter."

"Sure it does. Meeting the family is more like a three month relationship kind of thing."

"Our relationship has existed for much longer than three months. Besides, I met your mother a long time ago."

"And for that, I apologize," Lizzie said. "I guess you could say we've had a 'relationship' for longer than three months, but it's not how it is now."

"You can argue that a lot of relationships aren't the same as when they started," Will argued. "In fact, I would think that most people would want their relationships to evolve, rather than stay stagnate."

"I'm quite content with you right now."

**xx**

Instead of letting him in, Charlie closed the door behind him. Will's frown deepened. "Are we going somewhere for dinner? I thought you were cooking."

Charlie shook his head. Will followed him to the waiting taxi (the one that his tired mind had not even noticed was waiting in Charlie's driveway). When they were both seated and Charlie had given the address, Will asked, "Where is that? Is that a restaurant?"

Again, his friend shook his head. "It's Lizzie's place."

Will balked. "What?"

"Lizzie's apartment."

"You didn't tell me we were having dinner there."

Charlie looked genuinely confused. "Yes, I did."

"No, you said you should come over for dinner."

"Come over _there_. I meant come over to Lizzie's," Charlie clarified.

"How the bloody hell was I supposed to know that?"

"We'd been talking about Jane bringing Lizzie home right before, weren't we?"

Will glared at Charlie, who looked sorry for the miscommunication. Will had to remind himself Charlie was an actor. "What are you trying to pull, Charlie?"

"Nothing! It's not my fault you misunderstood me," Charlie replied. "Caroline and her friends are at my house anyway."

Will searched his friend's face for any trace of dishonesty. He found nothing. He let out a frustrated sigh, noting that he should make new friends, preferably with people who didn't make a profession out of lying. "Fine," he conceded.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet, mainly because Will had fallen asleep against the window, and Charlie let him sleep.

A gentle push at his shoulder woke him. He forgot where he was for a second, before Charlie told him to get out of the taxi so the nice driver could get on with his job. Will scowled and rubbed his eyes, following Charlie into an unremarkable apartment complex.

After a short elevator ride, and Charlie getting the wrong door twice (really, how hard could it be?), they were shown into Elizabeth Bennet's studio apartment by her sister, Jane. He looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. For a studio apartment, it was rather large. It was adorned mismatched furniture and a few photographs on the wall. One wall, Will noticed, had ballet shoes of various sizes hanging on it.

"Hi," Jane greeted. "You can just put your coats over there." She gestured to the hooks on the wall, which already looked piled to their limit with handbags, a gym bag, and a few jackets and coats. At his look, Jane said, "Don't worry, they're stronger than they look."

Charlie smiled at her and put his coat away, looking at him to do the same. He did, and then followed them to the kitchen (the whole five steps to the kitchen area) where Elizabeth was cooking. She was wearing dark blue lounge pants that thankfully didn't have anything ridiculous written across the ass like _Juicy_ or _Team Pink _or any of that other nonsense he'd seen on Caroline. She had on a long sleeve white shirt, which had two different stains on it. Her hair was in some sort of twist, with a few strands falling out. When she smiled at them, in the dim glow of her kitchen, her eyes looked remarkably green. Perhaps it was just the lighting, he decided, that made her eyes look different to him at times.

He and Charlie sat on the barstools, watching Jane fuss with the wine bottle. "Lizzie, where's your wine opener?"

Elizabeth rummaged through a few cupboards before asking Jane to look in her bedroom area. Will cringed when he thought of why it would be there. Charlie offered to look too, but she declined his help and told him to stay seated. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers, and opened a cupboard above her fridge. He saw the bottle opener there, but she couldn't, and her arm couldn't quite get a hold it. He began to get up to get it for her, but then she stood on her tiptoe, her very tiptoe, as he had seen her do on the magazine cover, except she didn't even have shoes on now. His eyes widened in alarm, but then he realized it was her left leg.

"Got it," she announced.

By the alarmed look on Charlie's face, Will guessed he'd seen her trick as well.

Before either of them could say anything about it, she said, "Don't say anything, please. It's just a habit. And I did it on my uninjured leg."

"Where'd you find it?" Jane asked, returning.

Elizabeth smiled and gestured above the fridge vaguely. He thought Jane had a suspicious look in her eye for a moment, but maybe it was just a trick of the light because it was gone in a second. She smiled at her sister, and Will could see dark circles under her eyes. He looked away. Maybe Jane was tired too.

**xx**

"You haven't wished me happy birthday," he said.

"I did earlier," she reminded him, eyes still closed.

"I don't remember," Will lied. She knew he was lying because he remembered everything she said to him. "Say it again."

She opened her eyes. "I love you," Lizzie whispered.

It was only when Will's eyes widened that Lizzie realized that she had said it out loud. Will didn't say anything. He just stared at her with a mixture of hope and fear and something else that Lizzie couldn't name. Lizzie didn't know what to do, so she kissed him. Will didn't respond right away, and seconds after he finally moved his lips, he pulled away quickly, and asked, "Did you mean that?"

Yes, yes, yes. Of course she did. She wanted to hold him tightly, kiss away his fears and insecurities, apologize for not saying it sooner, and beg him to keep loving her back because she didn't think she could ever stop loving him.

All she could do was nod.

Will stared into her eyes, and Lizzie tried not to blink because this was too big a moment to ruin. "Because it's my birthday?"

"No," she whispered, kissing him quickly. "Because you're wonderful and understanding and perfect."

"Oh," He said, looking lost in his thoughts.

Lizzie could feel her heart beating in her chest rapidly against his, and she was glad, so glad that she told him. "Happy birthday," she whispered against his lips before losing herself completely in him.

"Say it again," Will whispered.

"Happy birthday," she said, moving so that she was lying on top of him.

Will laughed against her lips. "No, tell me you love me again."

"Oh," she smiled too, knowing that was what he wanted all along. "I love you, Will." She was surprised at how easily the words slid from her lips, especially since the last time she had said them to a man had felt like she had to force them out.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really, truly, madly, yes."

"Again?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "You're lucky it's your birthday," she said. "I love you."

"Only on my birthday?"

She wondered how many of these questions she'd have to endure. "No," Lizzie whispered, giving him a swift kiss again. "Every day of every month of every year." Another kiss. "Until you don't want me to anymore." Another kiss. "Well, even then I'll probably still love you, just secretly."

That seemed to please Will, and he kissed her again, hard. Between the gasps for air, she told him again and again, the three words she'd been so afraid of before.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ahhhhh! I can't believe it's been over a month since I updated this! It's been so long since I've been on this site that I forgot my password! Jeeeeez. I'm so sorry guys. I have a very long story involving my lack of organization and school eating my life (never ever take 19 hours of classes in one semester! It will kill you!), but I'm sure you don't want to hear it. What you may be interested to hear, however, is that I am currently working on another Pride and Prejudice story for NaNoWriMo. I'm about 20,000 words in (pretty freakin' pathetic, if you ask me, but I'm hoping Thanksgiving break will give me some quality time to push out enough to meet the word count), and I won't be posting it until it's read over by a few people and beta'd.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has read/reviewed this or Closer in the past month. It means a lot to me. Also thanks to all who have PMed me to make sure I'm alive. I appreciate all of your concern. If I don't update Twitter for a few days, then I think you can worry (I've become quite addicted to it, unfortunately...feel free to follow me...the link is on my profile...okay, shameless plug done).

One last thing...I know I said this would be a five part thing, but it turns out it's just going to be four parts...yeah...bad planning on my part lol. Good news is that it's already organized and pretty much ready to be posted. I'll post it in a few days, and then you won't hear from me again until I finish my NaNoWriMo project!

So yeah, end of this crazy rambling author's note, haha. Please leave reviews. They brighten my day.


	4. You Know My Love Is Always On Your Side

**The Space Between (Deleted Scenes) by everymonday**

**Chapter Four: My Love Is Always On Your Side  
**

**---**

**xx**

"I think you should get a cat."

Will raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Do you now?"

She nodded, squeezing his hand as they walked up the stairs to his apartment. "A black one. Did you know black animals are the ones that get adopted last?"

"I did not," he replied, taking in the adorable pout on Lizzie's lips.

"They are. Isn't that sad?"

"Your apartment doesn't allow animals." He opened the door for her.

Lizzie walked through the threshold and he helped her take off her jacket. "I know. That's why _you _should get a cat."

"A black one."

She nodded. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"I don't think I have time for a cat."

"I'll help you take care of it. It'll be our cat."

He smiled. He liked the sound of _our_ anything, and he really had no aversion to cats.

Lizzie wrapped her arms around his neck. "Come on. You know you want to."

"You're too persuasive for your own good," he mumbled before placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"So you'll do it?"

"I'll think about it."

"Boo. Will, you're not fun."

"I said I'd think about it." His arms circled her waist before she could pull away and pretend to be upset with him. They both knew he'd give in at some point.

"What can I do to make you think positively about it?" Lizzie asked, her hands wandering into his hair, fingers running through his scalp.

"Hmm." He closed his eyes and rested his forehead to hers. "It's just that it'll be such a hassle to keep the cat here."

"My lease is up in a month," Lizzie said. "I can try and find an apartment where I can keep a cat. That way, we can just split time with it."

"Then we'd have to buy two of everything, and the poor thing would have twice the trouble adjusting."

Lizzie was silent, and when Will opened his eyes, he found his girlfriend pouting at him, a crinkle in her brow.

"The solution is obviously for you to move in with me," he said softly. "Then we can get a cat and whatever other animal you want."

**xx **

"This is just like last winter," Lizzie said, trying to smile. She could feel the strain near her mouth and the way her eyes didn't change, so she knew it didn't look quite right.

The other three people in the room looked at her with looks of varying incredulity, confirming her doubts.

It was true in that the four of them were in a room together, talking, like they had last winter, but Lizzie knew that beyond that, nothing was the same. Last winter, Jane and Charlie would _not_ have found Will and Lizzie embracing. Will Darcy would _not_ be chit chatting with her sister. Lizzie would _not_ be this close to Will and Charlie and Jane would _not_ be that far away from each other.

Charlie and Jane were "friends," which was an unexpected turn of events, especially after the saccharine couple they had been last winter. It was a big step from the lack of anything they had been lately though. They were interesting to watch. Charlie still looked at Jane like she was his whole world, and Jane - poor, lovely, Jane - was trying so hard to resist him. She was careful to never touch Charlie, never to look at him for too long, never to smile too much, though it was obvious she wanted to. Lizzie wondered how long this would last.

Jane and Will were probably friends now. Lizzie knew Jane didn't think ill of him (or anyone), and he had said hello to her and Charlie with what looked to be a genuine smile. He'd even made a bit of small talk with Jane before Lizzie had interrupted with her unnecessary observation.

Will and Charlie might have been friends, except for the fact that Will had given Charlie bad advice and Charlie had punched him. Lizzie wasn't sure if this meant that they were even, or if they were still working things out. They were civil with each other, but not friendly. It didn't seem in Charlie's nature to be unforgiving. She made a mental note to ask Will about it later.

It was all because of Will, Lizzie realized. Everything had changed because of Will. He was the one that had set things in motion. He'd come clean with Charlie, apologized to Jane, helped Lydia…

He had done all this for her.

Lizzie had absolutely no idea where she stood with him, or where she wanted to stand. Lizzie only knew that she didn't want to stand, she wanted to _dance_. Anymore than that, like where Will Darcy fit into her life, she couldn't say. Her heart clenched painfully at the idea of choosing one or the other.

"So what are you two up to?" Jane asked, looking curiously between the two of them.

"Nothing," Lizzie answered a bit too quickly. "What are _you two _up to?"

Jane gave her a look that said she clearly didn't believe her. "Charlie and I were going to relax and watch some movies. Want to join us?"

"I need to find some food to eat first." Lizzie looked at Will. "Have you eaten?"

"No," Will replied with a heartbreakingly handsome smile. "Shall we go somewhere for a late lunch?"

Lizzie nodded. "Let me change and grab my purse. Wait here."

She walked to her room and rushed to find something suitable to wear, suddenly wishing she had done laundry sooner. Finally, she settled on a comfortable pair of jeans and the green sweater she'd worn in London that Will had complimented.

**x x**

"What were you doing with the cups?" Lizzie asked curiously, watching Jane and Cat balance cups.

"Ana said she bet we couldn't balance these on our foreheads longer than her," Cat explained. "She lost."

"So why are you still balancing them?"

"Cat wants to prove she has more balance than me, despite the fact that I'm the model," Jane said.

"It's getting rather boring," Ana said with a secretive smile. "Take the cups off your heads or else you'll get cricks in your neck."

"Jane, just give in," Lizzie said.

"No!" Cat exclaimed. "Then she'll just say that I won because she _let_ me!"

"You guys are so ridiculous."

Ana laughed to herself. "You should both take your cups off your heads. Then you'll agree when I say that you're _both _losers."

Curious, Jane and Cat both eyed each other and took the cups off only to reveal a dark ring where the cup had been.

Lizzie covered her mouth to hide her laugh. "You guys! That's such an old trick!"

Jane blushed when she touched her forehead and her fingers came back black. "Wow. I suddenly feel much younger than twenty-seven."

Cat nodded with a grin. "Ana, I feel like I should be mad at you."

Ana, who had been giggling uncontrollably, tried to stop long enough to apologize. "I'm sorry! It was just too easy!"

"You're lucky my sisters already like you," Lizzie said, wondering how much Jane and Cat liked Ana now.

Ana laughed joyously. "Oh, Lizzie, you're so lucky to have sisters! They're so easy to – I mean, they're so much fun."

Jane let out a soft chuckle. "We're lucky Lizzie wasn't as evil as you."

"No wonder Will hates people. I bet he thinks they're all going to play jokes on him like you do," Cat added.

"What is that on your head, Jane?" their father asked, seeming to have appeared from nowhere.

Lizzie snorted. "Long story short: Jane and Cat are gullible, and Ana is devious."

Her father shook his head. "Janie. I'm disappointed in you. That's such an easy trick."

"What's worse is that they kept the cups on their heads for so long!" Ana giggled. "Well, better, depending on which way you look at it."

"I'm going to go find my boyfriend and leave my sisters to murder you now," Lizzie announced.

**x x**

She found Will putting dishes into the dishwasher. It was such a normal thing to be doing, and she found Lizzie enjoyed catching him at these moments. It was during these times that she discovered another quirk of his to fall in love with.

Will insisted on wearing protective gloves for most cleaning activities. Lizzie was beginning to think it was less of a safety precaution and more of a habit that he'd learned from spending more than eighty hours a week at the hospital.

"Hey."

He looked up. "Hi."

"Your sister put rings on my sisters' heads."

Will laughed. "How'd they take it?"

"Pretty well, I think. I think they're more upset with themselves for believing her than her for doing it."

"That's usually the case." Will closed the dishwasher and, still wearing gloves, fiddled with the settings until he was satisfied. "You know what today is?"

"December 21st," Lizzie answered.

Will nodded. "Tomorrow will a year since we met."

"Really?" Lizzie racked her brain, pulling forth memories of an aloof man who didn't believe her to be a real dancer.

"Yeah. At that Christmas party Charlie dragged me to, remember?" He pulled off the gloves and washed his hands, another habit of his – wash his hands before and after putting on gloves.

"I remember." Lizzie smiled. "It seems so long ago."

"You've had a hard year."

"Not just because of that," Lizzie said. "I just feel like we've both changed so much."

Will shrugged, still washing his hands. He had to wash them for at least thirty seconds. "We have."

Lizzie leaned against the counter. "Yeah."

Finally, he dried his hands. "I've been thinking about when our relationship started."

"Why does it matter?" Lizzie jumped to sit on the counter top.

"It doesn't matter to you?" Will asked, looking hurt.

"I didn't say that," Lizzie bit her lip. "I'm just wondering why you're so set on an actual date. What's wrong with the day I finally told you I loved you?"

"I just think that we were something before then."

"Of course we were, but we weren't _together._"

"We weren't apart either." Will turned to face her completely and he put his hands on the counter on either side of her hips.

Lizzie shrugged. "According to your logic, that means we were together when we first met or something, like it was fate or something."

"That's not what I'm saying. You know I don't believe in fate."

"Well, then what are you arguing?"

"I'm just saying the beginning of our relationship is so foggy to me. There's no clear-cut beginning. Did it start when you saw me as more than some arrogant asshole? Or when we kissed in London? I loved you for so long before the 'official' start, and I know you loved me before that too. So I'm just curious because there seems to be a gray area where we weren't together and weren't apart."

"I don't think it matters," she said again. Will looked away from her, dejected. She took his face gently in her hands and made him face her. "I don't think the relationship matters as much as the love in it."

"And when did that start for you?" Will pressed. "I don't think you ever told me, just that you realized you could love both me and ballet when you were auditioning."

"I don't know either."

Will sighed. She could tell he was disappointed, even though he didn't know when _he_ started loving her either.

"I don't think love has a concrete beginning or end, Will," she said softly, running her hands through his dark hair. "I don't think beginnings and endings are important, Will."

She felt his arms on her lower back, drawing soothing circles into her skin. "That's true."

"I love you _now_," she whispered. "I love you so much, Will."

"I love you too." He took one of her hands in his and kissed it.

"You think too much in black and white."

"Yeah." He sighed again. "You're right. The exact beginning doesn't really matter. What's important is how much we love each other now."

Lizzie bent so that her lips hovered over his. "And we love each other _very _much."

He nodded and squeezed her hand. "Agreed."

**x x**

Will woke up about twenty minutes before his alarm went off because hair was tickling his face. It took his groggy mind several seconds to realize where he was and whom he was with. Lizzie's head rested in the crook of his neck, her steady breath soft on his skin, her leg hooked over his waist and her small hands clutching his shirt. Will's tired mind could not quite grasp the idea that she was in his bed.

He gently rolled them onto their sides, knowing he'd have to get up soon. He wanted to allow her more time to sleep. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, her face went from abstract shapes to the familiar features he loved. He lay there, memorizing the delicate details of her face - the stubbornness in her chin, the pout of her lips, length of her eyelashes. Finally, when he could put it off no longer, Will carefully removed his arm from under her neck and her leg from his waist.

When his arm was free, Lizzie took a deep inhale and rolled so that she was on her back, her hand still holding a fistful of his shirt. Will took her hand and pried her fingers away from the material. Will bent his head and kissed her exposed shoulder. Lizzie inhaled deeply again, and her eyelids fluttered the moment his lips touched the bare skin.

"What time is it?" she whispered, voice heavy with sleep.

"Early," he replied softly. "Much too early."

"Hmm," she hummed. "Why are you awake?"

"I have work," he said regretfully.

"Oh." She turned her head so that her nose touched his.

Not able to help himself, he gave her a quick peck on her lips and watched them curve into a smile. "You're making it very hard for me to leave."

A crease formed in her smooth forehead. "I'll get up," she said, eyes still closed.

"No," he protested. "It's fine. Stay as long as you like."

"You have work," she reminded him, rubbing her eyes.

"Do you have anything to do today?" he asked curiously.

"Mmm. No." She tried opening her eyes, but only closed them again after a few seconds.

He smiled at how adorable she was. "Just stay in bed. I'll leave a key for you to lock up when you leave."

"If you're sure." Her hand rested on his cheek, and she buried her face into the pillow.

"I am," he replied, kissing her temple. He watched as Lizzie drifted back into sleep almost immediately. Will was sure this was how he wanted every morning to begin: with her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Aaaaaaaand that's it! The end of these deleted scenes/outtakes/whatever you want to call them. It's also the complete end to Closer. I really hope they were enjoyable and gave you a better glimpse of the development and future of Will and Lizzy's relationship as I see it. I'm in the editing phase of my new story, which will be called When It Rains. Just put me on your author alert list or keep an eye out for it. I probably won't be able to post it until the middle of January though, because I've got a busy month ahead (fun things though, not school, thank goodness). So I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year. I'll see you all in a month or so. Don't forget to leave a review. :]


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